Gardener’s Confession – My take on Pests

You can call me stupid or sentimental. But this is exactly what I am. I opted to be a Gardener so that in my little way, I could be close to Nature. And Nature encompasses everything; not just the plants.

So, I do everything to ensure that my plants are healthy. But that is where I stop. If they ever get infected with a pest attack, its their fight. Not mine. I believe if plants are living beings so are those insects. I do not kill them with insecticide.

Survival of the fittest it is. If the plant is healthy enough it will resist the pest attack and eventually the insects will disappear. In either case, letting them be as they are is the key and one of the most difficult things to practice.

And every single time there is an urge to get protective, I ask myself, “what do I want my plants to become – dependent or independent?

Yes they definitely can fight on their own. I have seen it happening in my garden on several occasions! 🙂

You also have to remember that for the insect, plant is their food. So they are definitely not going to kill the plant. They just weaken the plants by taking up all the vital nutrients. If the plant is alive, it will have to fight the pest for survival and it will do so over a period of time!

I’ll tell you a little story! The other day I was in a bus sitting next to a Russian woman, coming back from Manali.
She told me how central Moscow is crowded, so her husband and she decided to move to the suburbs.
Her husband has this wonderful habit of collecting seeds from various parts of the world. When he brings them home, they plant it in their new garden, together.
Most bloom, few die, may be because of the the geographical change.
He becomes terribly disheartened, if he finds that they are rotting.
So the wife secretly chops off the rotten part…
You blog just reminded me of that lovely conversation.